Category: Covid -19

** Bengaluru virologist’s test kit ‘Omisure’ for Omicron variant cuts delays

“Globally, all other test kits for Omicron are either made for gene dropout or mutation specific detection. Omisure is the first test kit combining both.”

In a major and global breakthrough towards cutting down procedural delays in genome sequencing to ascertain the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2, Dr V Ravi, former head of the Department of Neurovirology at National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences and Head, Research & Development, Tata Medical & Diagnostic Centre, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, and his team have developed the world’s first test kit, Omisure, that can detect the Omicron variant by combining S-gene target failure (SGTF) and S-gene mutation amplification (SGMA).

** Bengaluru firm Strides Pharma Science to launch oral drug to fight Covid

In a statement, Strides said it will “immediately launch” its generic Molnupiravir, indicated for high-risk adult patients with Covid under the brand Stripiravir.

Bengaluru pharma company Strides Pharma Science Limited said that it has received Emergency Use Authorisation from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch Molnupiravir, an oral medication for Covid-19 in India.

In a statement, Strides said it will “immediately launch” its generic Molnupiravir, indicated for high-risk adult patients with Covid under the brand Stripiravir. The company is commercialising the product with a group-integrated supply chain for active pharmaceutical ingredients and solid oral dosage from its large-scale WHO pre-qualified manufacturing capacities, the company stated.

** Bengaluru firm Strides Pharma Science to launch oral drug to fight Covid

In a statement, Strides said it will “immediately launch” its generic Molnupiravir, indicated for high-risk adult patients with Covid under the brand Stripiravir.

Bengaluru pharma company Strides Pharma Science Limited said that it has received Emergency Use Authorisation from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to launch Molnupiravir, an oral medication for Covid-19 in India.

In a statement, Strides said it will “immediately launch” its generic Molnupiravir, indicated for high-risk adult patients with Covid under the brand Stripiravir. The company is commercialising the product with a group-integrated supply chain for active pharmaceutical ingredients and solid oral dosage from its large-scale WHO pre-qualified manufacturing capacities, the company stated.

** Azim Premji Foundation, Salesforce to launch app to accelerate Covid-19 vaccination

‘To cover 110 million people in 25 States by June 2022’

Salesforce, a customer relationship management player, and Azim Premji Foundation have entered into a collaboration to introduce VaxIT, an app to help accelerate Covid-19 vaccination in India.

The programme would use VaxIT across 25 States to cover a population of 110 million (11 crore) across over 3,500 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) by June 2022.

The VaxIT app, developed on the Salesforce platform for Azim Premji Foundation and its partners, would capture the status of vaccination to help individuals plan and stay updated on their progress in the healthcare programme. VaxIT is available on the Android app store and offers multi-lingual, and offline capabilities.

** Bengaluru-based Prasanna Trust gets grant of $50,000 from Goldman Sachs

The grant will help Prasanna Trust, a public charitable trust supporting marginalised sections of society in India, expand its scholarship programme to empower 150 girls affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to continue their education, and grow its outreach beyond Bengaluru, to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Madurai and Chennai.

** Wins Best Project Of The Year Award

The students of ATME College of Engineering have won Best Project of the Year Award in Electrical and Electronics Engineering Stream in the 44th Series Student Project Programme held under Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology, Smart Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers to Combat COVID-19.

Mysuru

** A journal that went around Bengaluru during the pandemic, documenting thoughts on gender

Sandbox Collective collaborated with Deepikah Bharadwaj, an interdisciplinary artist, for a project, which they called Rest Your Thoughts Here: The Gender Chronicles

Sandbox Collective, a women-led art collective that focuses on gender, realised these discrepancies. Nimi Ravindran, the co-founder of the organisation, says, “We heard that domestic violence escalated. Our friends in theatre were fundraising for transgender people and sex workers, who had no way of coping with a calamity. It was a testing time for women and gender minorities. We wanted to do something that involved something tangible.”

** Sathya Sai Human Excellence honours Covid warriors

The award instituted by the university is an attempt to fete individuals who have served mankind.

Neerja Birla, founder and chairperson of MPower (an initiative of Aditya Birla Education Trust), who was the guest of honour at the event, was conferred with the ‘Change Champion Award’ for all her noble work in the field of mental health done through MPower.